Oct
Honoring the Fallen
Today we did the ceremony to place the headstone at the grave of a Civil War veteran. Getting the stone was a story in itself. One of the people involved with the cemetery started that ball rolling, and veterans worked to see that the headstone was made. Today we dedicated the headstone. I did the invocation and blessing of the stone. (When necessary, I am good at writing a generic invocation that works for all faiths.)
Among people attending were descendants of the Civil War veteran, Private Lorenzo Reynolds. They were quite taken with the whole thing. We had an honor guard of veterans from the Neptune American Legion Post and members of a group that honors their Civil War ancestors. The ceremony was brief and dignified.
Heathens like to talk of honoring ancestors. I get the impression many of them are thinking of ancient ancestors from the Viking Age. They forget that we have traditions to honor those who have passed more recently. Today’s ceremony was one such event.
The man who orchestrated this event has also been involved in maintaining the historic cemetery where Private Reynolds is buried. He spoke of the cemetery as a place of reverence and honor. As he put it, “…at this season, it is important we remember that this cemetery is a place of respect for real people. There are no headstones that say “Boo” or vampires running around….”
What with the Halloween thing and the penchant for ghost stories and vampires, it is easy to lose sight of the real meaning of a cemetery. It is not a place of horror. It is a place of peace, dignity, and respect for those who have gone before us. A cemetery is a monument to our deceased ancestors.
Personally, as a Heathen and a veteran, I am honored to have been asked to do the invocation. This was a very moving experience for all who attended. There is a good feeling in giving a veteran his due honor. It was also good to be reminded of the need to honor those who have gone before us. Like the flow of Wyrd, there is a continuity from our ancestors to ourselves and on to our descendants. Ceremonies like today’s memorial bring us a closer to feeling that flow of Wyrd from past to present to future. We are not bystanders. We are participants in the flow of Life.
